The biggest environmental issue in North America is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are various harmful gases that harm planet Earth by adding to another process called the greenhouse effect. (http://www.answers.com/topic/greenhouse-gas)
In the United States, Canada, and Mexico there are 901 endangered species. Unbelievably, this number doesn't even include plants. (http://www.earthsendangered.com/continent.asp?view=all&ID=9&gr=all) For a great deal of these animals, the main reason they are endangered is because they are being hunted and fished. Two examples are the gray wolves in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/earth/10wolf.html) and the Hoki fish. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?em)
The wolves existence is being threatened. For years it was illegal for them to be hunted because they were endangered. After years of population growth it was decided that the wolves could be hunted again, but only 2/3 of the population. (http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/wolf,_gray.php) Environmentalists tried to prevent this but they could not stop it in time, and now the wolves are being hunted; and hunters aren’t listening to the 2/3 population rule. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/earth/10wolf.html).
The Hoki fish, better known as the fish inside of the McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich, is actually endangered; and there is actually a legitimate worry about the fish dying out because of over-fishing. New Zealand, where the fish is caught, has decreased the amount of the fish that can be caught each year. Fishing too much of this species could one day lead to its extinction. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?em )
Greenhouse Gases:
The biggest environmental issue in North America is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are various harmful gases that harm planet Earth by adding to another process called the greenhouse effect. (http://www.answers.com/topic/greenhouse-gas)
The greenhouse effect theory (global warming) states that heat from the sun gets trapped on earth because of harmful gases, and damages the ozone layer and the atmosphere. (http://www.answers.com/topic/greenhouse-effect). You may have heard of this theory; multiple links that have been tied to global warming are the polar ice caps melting and the Earth getting warmer. (http://kccesl.tripod.com/hypertextstudy/greenhousecontrolled.html).
Some of the major places that greenhouse gases come from are cars and buildings (http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse.htm). In fact, a study conducted in Canada in the year 2008 found that: "Canada's greenhouse gas emissions rose from 596 megatons to 747 megatons of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions" according to http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/04/22/tech-canada-greenhouse.html. This was over a 15 year time period. (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/04/22/tech-canada-greenhouse.html) Governments in North America (the United States especially) are trying to lessen green house gases through a number of ways; an example being that by a certain date California must reduce the amount of greenhouse gases it puts out into the atmosphere. (http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/4111/ )
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Endangered Animals:
In the United States, Canada, and Mexico there are 901 endangered species. Unbelievably, this number doesn't even include plants. (http://www.earthsendangered.com/continent.asp?view=all&ID=9&gr=all) For a great deal of these animals, the main reason they are endangered is because they are being hunted and fished. Two examples are the gray wolves in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/earth/10wolf.html) and the Hoki fish. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?em)
The wolves existence is being threatened. For years it was illegal for them to be hunted because they were endangered. After years of population growth it was decided that the wolves could be hunted again, but only 2/3 of the population. (http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/wolf,_gray.php) Environmentalists tried to prevent this but they could not stop it in time, and now the wolves are being hunted; and hunters aren’t listening to the 2/3 population rule. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/earth/10wolf.html).
The Hoki fish, better known as the fish inside of the McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich, is actually endangered; and there is actually a legitimate worry about the fish dying out because of over-fishing. New Zealand, where the fish is caught, has decreased the amount of the fish that can be caught each year. Fishing too much of this species could one day lead to its extinction. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?em )
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Pollution:
Water Pollution:
Many things have happened in North America that has hurt its fresh water supply. One such event was the Exxon Valdez oil spill. ( http://seagrant.uaf.edu/conferences/2009/evos-anniversary/index.html ) The huge oil tanker, named the Exxon Valdez, spilled several million gallons of oil of the Alaskan coast. (http://explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa032499.htm ) Due to this, many aquatic animals died, and the water was heavily polluted. There was so much oil from the spill, that a few months later the oil trail was 470 miles long. The clean took many years to fix. ( http://explorenorth.com/library/weekly/aa032499.htm )
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Light Pollution:
Light pollution is pollution that is caused by artificial light. ( http://www.savethenight.eu/What%20is.html) There are many sources of light pollution, such as street lights, car lights, stadium lights, and even spotlights. (http://www.northampton.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=269&pageNumber=2 ).
One thing the lights do is make the night sky brighter. Sometimes, in big cities, the night sky is so bright, that you can’t even see the constellations at night. (http://www.savethenight.eu/What%20is.html ) You can even be harmed by light pollution. Some of the ways it can harm us are by stunting children’s growth, and even increasing risk of breast cancer. http://www.starrynightlights.com/lightpollution/light_pollution_and_human_health.html ).
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